Literature Guide: Out of the Dust (Grades 4-8)

Rating:
Summary: A very moving story
Review: The story Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is about a girl named Billie Jo. She lives with her parents in a dusty desert. She was named Billie Jo because when she was born her dad wanted a boy. This book is written like a diary that this girl keeps. Now we can read it. It is about Billie's hard life and how she lived. She was always doing things for everyone and had a lot of chores. Then finally her mom got pregnant and it changed Billie's life forever. I liked the book because it is good and tells all of what life was like back then. It is interesting and fun to read. It was sad but still good.

Rating:
Summary: I don't rate this book as high as many. I get tired of dust.
Review: Being forced to read a book which uses the word dust at least 200 times forces me to submit a review that is not as pleasant as the general population's. I did not enjoy the book a great deal. I think that the plot needs more substance than the dust that swallows Billie-Jo's town. I found the book depressing and unneccessary to be read at school. It is alright if you don't mind that sort of thing.

Rating:
Summary: This book is thrilling and sad but really good
Review: I read the book Out of the Dust. I thought this book was very good. It had many sad parts in it. Which I thought was good. If you like sad but good books you can not put down Like I couldn't put this book down I would read this book. I rate this book 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: THiS BOOK IS GREAT!!!!
Review: i thought this book was great!!!! i like the plot because its a true thing(the dustbowl)...some people can relate to this story:). Karen Hesse, is a good author, it magnifies alot, and her books are unforgettable. This book is dazzling, u can imagine the dust in ur food, and all over the kitchen floor, while reading this book. I also luv how this story is in a free-verse!!! I recommend this to everyone, because its a nice, sad, unforgettable, dazzling, and loving book!!!

Rating:
Summary: Sad Book
Review: This book was very sad.It made me cry when the girl gets older she writes in her diary.Her mom and dad gave her the diary this book is about the 1920s,1930s,1940s,1950s.I told Mrs.McDonnel about the book.She said don't read it again

Rating:
Summary: Out of the Dust is an absolutely fantastic book.
Review: Though the characters may not be true, the plot is. The book is showing how life was living in the time of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma. This family does everything that they can to survive. With the family of three, Billie Jo the young girl, Ma, Daddy, and another one on the way, they are very happy with each other. There are two problems though, one, it is very hard to be a wheat farmer in the dust bowls. Second, is the dust. There is so much of it. They say that when they sit down to dinner their food is already peppered, and the milk is the color of chocolate milk. Almost everything that they do the dust gets in the way somehow. With lots of heat, and dust, fires can occur. Billie Jo hates fires, and there is a reason, but you have to read the book to find out why. Out of the Dust has so many little lessons. A very important one is how fortunate we are now. Life was extremely difficult and sad. People all around them were sick and dying. The way that this book is written is incredibly touching. Karen Hesse did a fantastic job of writing. The form, the vocabulary, the story line; and best of all the book. There was nothing that I didn't like about the book. As I was reading to my Mom, she broke into tears several times, and I couldn't stop reading. The entire book was outstanding.

Rating:
Summary: WEIGHT OF THE DUST
Review: I'm writing about the book called Out of the Dust. In this book my favorite poem is Blame. This book is about the little girl in the book who blames her self for her Mothers death and also for her baby brother's death too. This book is recommended to you for the age group of 12- 65. This poem is written, in a way that she felt alone. The reason that I say this is because some of the words in the poem are written by their self. I really think that this is an excellent book and if you are ever in the library stop by the fiction section and check out Karen Hesse OUT OF THE DUST!

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book!
Review: In the book Out of the Dust my favorite poem is "Blame." I like this poem because I think it is one of the main poems. This book is excellent! It shows a lot of different emotions in the book. There are happy times and sad times. One of the poetic aspects in Out of the Dust is that there is a lot of symbolism in the poems. I like that because it makes you think twice as hard about all of the different meanings. I think that this book is for 8th graders and up because you really have to think about what the poem means to understand it. I like this book a lot I know I will read it again some day. I think that everyone should read this book at least once in his or her lives. I can see why it got 5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: weight of the dust
Review: I'm writing to tell you about the book Out of the Dust. This is a wonderful book that is written a poem like way. Each poem has a great amount of meaning. In this book the little girl's name is Billy-Joe. She is 13 years old and she has a very hard life and it takes all the strength she's got too get over her burns, and the sad feeling she has because she felt like she killed her mother and the baby. In this book Billy-Joe feels like she is losing her father, so she struggles to gain his love back. This is a wonderful book and it's highly recommended by me.

Rating:
Summary: A novel that I think everybody would enjoy
Review: The novel Out Of the Dust by Karen Hesse is a wonderful and educational book for readers 12 and over. It has so much feeling that it gives to the reader. It makes the reader feel sympathetic. This novel shows the hardship and emotions that they felt. Billie Joe had one of the hardest lives a girl her age should ever have. She did stuff that most girls would be scared to do. The only difference was that she was doing it though her hands were scared.